Moors murderer Ian Brady helps write Festival play

MOORS murderer Ian Brady has helped write a play about his crimes. The serial killer collaborated with a playwright to tell the story of how he and his lover Myra Hindley murdered five children four decades ago.

The production, which will premiere at the Festival Fringe next month, has angered families of the victims.

Henry Filloux-Bennett, the playwright said he approached Brady by writing to him at Ashworth Hospital to seek his views on his work. He said the serial killer was allowed to correct anything in the script he saw as being inaccurate, and described his manner as "helpful" and "courteous". Among the changes Brady insisted on were that his character refers to Hindley in the play as "Kippo". Brady, now 68 and on a long-term hunger strike, also gave advice on his and Hindley's mannerisms and facial tics to guide actors.

Mr Filloux-Bennett, a 23-year-old law graduate, said: "He has been exceptionally helpful in allowing us a first-hand account of what happened." The play - entitled Wasted - is set in Hindley's cell days before she died four years ago and involves flashbacks to the night of the couple's final murder.